Earlier this week, UPS said it has rolled out a new less-than-container (LCL) service between Japan and the United States.

The company claims that this new offering provides up to 20 percent faster door-to-door delivery services than other competitive services.

Entitled Preferred LCL Ocean Freight, UPS said this new service meshes its North American ground network with containerized ocean services for Container Freight Station (CFS) to door delivery from Japan to the U.S. in 11-to-18 days. For shipments arriving at a west coast port, preferred LCL shipments will move to a UPS-operated trucking network to support air freight, with faster transit and day-definite delivery to multiple U.S. destinations, said UPS. And for East Coast destinations, UPS said the service will cut 5-to-6 days of transit time off of current service levels.

UPS has been offering standard LCL and FCL (full container load) services since 2001. This new service is now available between Japan and the U.S., with additional countries expected to be added in the next six months, according to UPS.

“The new service was in development for months,” said Donna Longino, UPS Public Relations Manager, in an interview. “Customer demand, particularly in industries with time critical components, like high-tech, healthcare and automotive, compelled UPS to fashion a service that took advantage of our trucking network in the U.S. to ensure faster transit and day-definite delivery to more U.S. destination points than competing services.”

The primary benefits of this service are speed and visibility, Longino added. As an example, she explained how UPS uses advanced handheld scanners and information management systems to capture and transmit pick-up and delivery information not typically available for ocean shipments. Shippers, she said, can access information on their ocean movement via UPS Quantum View Manage or Flex Global View.

“Greater visibility and faster transit times in ocean freight drive increased global commerce opportunities for companies in numerous industries that want to capture the economies of ocean freight without sacrificing speed and service,” said Jimmy Crabbe, vice president of ocean freight services at UPS, in a statement. “With our Preferred LCL service, companies can bridge the speed and economy gap between air and ocean freight services.”

September 16, 2010

About the Author

Jeff Berman, Group News Editor

Jeff Berman is Group News Editor for Logistics Management, Modern Materials Handling, and Supply Chain Management Review. Jeff works and lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where he covers all aspects of the supply chain, logistics, freight transportation, and materials handling sectors on a daily basis. Contact Jeff Berman

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